Best Bitcoin Card for Mozambique
Mozambique (official: República de Moçambique) is located in the southeast of Africa. The east of the republic borders on the Indian Ocean. To the north is Tanzania, to the northwest Zambia and Malawi, to the west Zimbabwe, to the southwest South Africa and to the south Swaziland. With an area of 801 551 km², the country is more than twice as large as Germany.
The national nature can be divided into two large landscapes: A coastal strip between 200 and 400 km wide stretches as a lowland along the 2 795 km long coast of the Indian Ocean. Both steep and flat coasts characterise the shore area north of the Zambezi, to the south there are compensation coasts with lagoons, dunes and bays. In the north and west, the lowlands rise to highlands, which in turn possess inselbergs. The highest of these, Monte Binga, lies on the border with Zimbabwe. With 2 436 m it is the highest elevation of the country.
Mozambique has numerous rivers. In the extreme north, the 1 100 km long Rovuma forms the border river to Tanzania, the central region is dominated by the Zambezi, with 2 660 km the largest river in southern Africa. It rises on the Lundaschwelle in Zambia and flows into the sea at Chinde in Mozambique with a 20,000 km² delta. An economically significant river is the continuously navigable Maputo in the extreme south of the country, which flows into the Indian Ocean near the capital of the same name at the Delagoa-Bai.
Political System
Mozambique has been a presidential republic with a multi-party system since 1990; the current constitution dates from 2004. The president (since February 2005 Armando Emilio Guebuza) is elected by direct universal suffrage for a term of five years, a one-time re-election is possible. He heads the armed forces as commander-in-chief and appoints a government chaired by a prime minister (Alberto Vaquina since October 2012). In addition, he has very extensive executive powers.
The legislative body is the Assembly of the Republic, which consists of 250 deputies directly elected for five years. The legal system is based on Portuguese law; the judges of the Supreme Court are appointed partly by the President and partly by the National Assembly. Mozambique is divided into eleven provinces, one of which is the city of Maputo, which also has provincial status.
Economy
Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in the world: 60 % of its inhabitants live below the poverty line. Although the country’s economy continues to grow unabated, so far only the social elite and foreign investors have benefited.
Agriculture and fishing account for almost one third of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Almost two thirds of the population are subsistence farmers. Livestock farming is hardly possible, especially in the north, due to the spread of the tsetse fly.
The existing mineral resources such as gold, copper, iron ore and precious stones are hardly used due to the poor infrastructure. In 2011, huge natural gas fields were discovered off the coast. The beauty of the landscape represents a tourist potential that has not yet been tapped either.
A large part of the export volume is generated by agricultural and fish products (tobacco, shrimps, sugar, cotton, cashew nuts). The main target country is South Africa. Food, machinery, oil and consumer goods are also imported from South Africa.
The country’s main ports are Maputo, Beira and Nacala. International airports can also be found in Maputo and Beira as well as in Nampula. The remaining infrastructure is poorly developed; of the 30,000 road kilometres, only 6,000 are paved. Currency is the Metical (= 100 Centavos).